Charities

JL Sports and our clients are firm believers in giving back to our communities. The following are the charities we are most involved with:

JL SPORTS AND ITS CLIENTS TEAM UP WITH THE UNITED WAY FOR THE 23rd ANNUAL UNITED WAY EVENT

About 200 wide-eyed children were more than ready for some football Saturday afternoon at Choate Rosemary Hall’s Worthington Johnson Athletic Center.

The United Way of Meriden and Wallingford sponsored the 23rd annual NFL Players Weekend, featuring a youth clinic in which college and professional football players put the youngsters through the paces for three hours.

The youth clinic was just part of the popular NFL Players Weekend. The local United Way chapter hosted a dinner and silent auction Friday night at Zandri’s Stillwood Inn, while a “Bowl with the Pros” event took place Saturday evening at Brunswick Colony Lanes.

All Proceeds will benefit the United Way of Meriden and Wallingford’s youth programs. James Ieronimo, executive director of the local chapter, said $425,000 has been raised since his organization took over the event from New Haven eight years ago.

Twenty-one players took part in the clinic, most notably the Baltimore Ravens’ Kyle Juszczyk, the Cincinnati Bengals’ Jayson DiManche, the Indianapolis Colts’ Tyler Varga, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Rasheed Bailey, the Minnesota Vikings’ Austin Shepherd, the New Orleans Saints’ Damian Swann, the St. Louis Rams’ Daren Bates, the San Francisco 49ers’ Brandon Thomas, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Cameron Brate, and the Tennessee Titans’ Connor Neighbors. Cyrus Jones (Alabama) and Delvin Simmons (USC) were among those representing the college ranks.

“It’s a great experience, just teaching someone who looks up to you and admires everything you do,” Simmons said. “It’s good to give back.”

Our Players’ Charities:

Will to Succeed Foundation, established in 1993 by Will & Senia Shields, seeks to guide, inspire and improve the lives of abused and neglected women and children. Will Shields was also recognized with the 2005 “JB Award” in the arena of “building stronger communities and families.

The Matt Birk HIKE Foundation was established to provide the Twin Cities’ young people with opportunities to pursue their dreams. The mission of the HIKE Foundation is to provide educational opportunities and resources needed to excel in the classroom and life.

The Joe Andruzzi Foundation is tackling cancer’s impact by providing financial assistance for patients and their families as well as funding pediatric brain cancer research.

Joe was a 2003 recipient of the NFL’s Ed Block Courage Award, one of the most esteemed honors bestowed upon a player in the NFL, primarily since the winner is chosen solely by his teammates for his commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage.

Vlad Ducasse has partnered up with Athletes for Charity to create “TEAM VLAD” and enable students from the High School of Sports Management, located in Brooklyn, NY, to attend various Jets home games. Students selected to attend games have achieved a minimum average of 80 and above on their report cards. The opportunity serves as the organization’s efforts to create academic incentives for youth attending under-performing schools. Athletes for Charity is a nonprofit organization headquartered in New York City which teams up with professional athletes, sports leagues and teams, various sports professionals, foster care agencies and related organizations, as well as volunteers and mentors, to empower and support the development of disadvantaged youth.

The team at JL Sports is comprised of individuals
who are passionate about what we do. We not only know and love football – all of us have spent more than our fair share of time on the field as players and coaches. We are 100% committed to you and your career and we are 100% committed to football.